LITTLE COTTONWOOD CANYON, Utah (ABC 4 News) - Two Sandy men are grateful to be alive Monday. They were stranded overnight in the bitter cold, high up a rocky ridge in Little Cottonwood Canyon for 17 hours before rescuers pulled them from the mountain.
Donald Brewer and Chandler Nunley said they're glad to finally be back on the ground.
“I normally go on adventures. This time it was a bad adventure,” said Chandler Nunley, 20, Sandy resident.
Sunday afternoon Nunley and Brewer decided to hike what's known as the “Thumb” of Little Cottonwood Canyon, a 900 foot cliff, both men were unprepared to face.
“It's really actually baffling some of the search and rescue team members, they’re amazed that they're able to get to where they are without equipment,” said Don Hutson, Public Information Officer, Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
“When we looked down and there was a 20 - 30 foot drop, we can't get down this or go back up,” said Donald Brewer, 20, Sandy resident.
So, just after dark, one of them used his cell phone to call for help. Rescue crews spent hours overnight and Monday morning pinpointing their location.
A helicopter was the only way up. When rescuers found the men, it was the only way out.
Once on the ground, the men were quick to tell their story.
“Did you ever think at any point this was a bad idea?” asked a reporter.
“Oh yah, oh yah,” said Brewer.
Both men said there's a lesson to be learned from all of this however, what each of them are getting out of it is completely different.
“Do you think you'll ever do this again?” asked a reporter.
“Yah,” said Brewer. “(But) this is the first time we've done this in the winter time, which will not happen again.”
“I think he's crazy, but I'm not going to do it again,” said Nunley. “If he is, he's crazy, but I won't that's for sure.”
